


Sisters (The Mission Remix)

by navaan



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Families of Choice, Family, Gen, Growing Up Together, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Light Angst, POV Female Character, Pre-Canon, Remix, Sister-Sister Relationship, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 16:19:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12112527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: Kara wants to be an older sister. She wants to have a sibling.But now she's not sure she wanted any of this.





	Sisters (The Mission Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Becoming Sisters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030433) by [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/pseuds/Rivulet027). 



Kara is prepared to be an older sister. She was her parents oldest child after all. More importantly: She _wants_ to be an older sister. She's looking forward to siblings who'll learn from her, who she can look out for.

Then Kal-El arrives; her cute little baby cousin. Kara gets to hold him under her aunt’s watchful gaze, gets to play with him and watch over him like she would for a little brother of her own.

Then a world ends.

"You understand this, Kara, don't you?" her father asks with sad eyes.

Her mother nods at her, encouraging her to understand. They've talked this through, but there isn't much time.

"Only two rockets," she says.

"Kal-El and you. Jor-El has warned us in time. Now our children will live." Her father looks so sad, but he also shows determination. It's so like him.

Her mother hugged her and the city shuddered with another tremor. "Quick now," she says, as Krypton shudders and moans, nearing its own destruction.

Silently she cries. She understands what's going on even without her parents explaining it to her at length.

"You will have you cousin to look after, Kara. Little Kal-El... He will need you." Her mother tries to smile.

"You'll be his last connection to a home he won't even remember, Kara. Protect him. He's family. You're family."

Love and family.

She understands that. And she loves Kal-El- She'll be him a good sister.

Her parents hurry along the corridors with her and Kara realizes they're only calm on the surface. They need to save their daughter. This is being strong for the people you love. Like she'll have to be.

Tears stream down her face. "I'll be strong. For you and for Kal-El. He'll know about Krypton. He'll know about the parents who loved him. He'll know about all of you, I promise."

 _I'll be the big sister who teaches him. I'll be his family. I would have been his family here on Krypton no matter what._ But this is different. She can be strong for both of them, make sure they are safe. She'll be his sister. She'll make sure he grows up safely. He's just a baby after all.

Her parents help her into the pod and Kara realizes this is it. The final good-bye and she can't do it she doesn't want to do it. She clings to them, before they talk to her in soft words and she cries but calms. The inescapable reality of it scares her, but she needs to be strong. She _wants_ to be strong.

Her mission is clear.

And she won't be alone.

She'll have someone to protect and love.

She'll be the perfect bigger sister and make sure their parents would have been proud of both of them.

* * *

When her pod opens and Kara looks up, a man is standing over her, and a red cape is fluttering in the wind behind him. Her eyes have a hard time adjusting to the light and at first she only sees a silhouette. Her limbs, her eyelids, her mind are heavy, like they are after a long sleep.

The moment of disorientation passes only, when she breathes in the unfamiliar air of a new planet and remembers in a single sad, overwhelming moment what has happened. She nearly sobs with the knowledge that Krypton is gone, her parents, friends, everyone dead. Everyone but Kal-El.

And that is when she really looks up and _sees_. Another Kryptonian and there are only supposed to be two Kryptonians left...

"Hello," the man says smilingly in halting slightly accented Kryptonian. "I am Kal-El, and you are?"

Her throat goes dry when she sees the symbol on his chest. "Kal-El is just a baby," she mutters, "and I have to protect him. You're not..."

But he smiles and there is so much of both his parents in that smile.

"Kal-El," he repeats, but his face is sterner now, cautious. "Who are you?"

"Kara Zor-El," she says and tears are streaming down her face again. She's grieving; still greiving. And this might all be a dream...

"DNA recognized," the voice of her ship provided, "Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara."

"But how?" she nearly wails. It's like she's losing another piece of her world and she hasn't even stopped grieving for the loss of her planet and family.

"Kara, hey," the man whispers and holds out a hand to touch her shoulder. He's speaking English now and she understands enough of it. "Hey, hello. I'm Superman. Kal-El. Your name. You're of the house of El?"

And just like that she is no longer meant to a be an older sister.

Kal-El grew up without her. She's still a child.

"Call me Clark."

He holds out a hand to her and she takes it. He is still the only family she has left.

* * *

She'd planned all her life on being the older sister and now Kara doesn’t want to be the younger sister. But to call she's just a girl. And in the Danvers' household Alex is the older one.

"She needs to learn first," Mr.s Danvers tells Alex. "Kara has so much to learn. She deserves a normal childhood just like you, but you need to help her. She can't do it without you. Can you do that? Can you help us protect her?"

"Protect _her_?" Alex Danvers asks and she sounds surprised and maybe a little defensive. Kara is still learning better English and some of the nuances escape her. "She's Superman's cousin, she doesn't need..."

"She's vulnerable," he father finishes. “She's a child who has lost her home and family. It doesn't matter where she's from.”

Kara listens to everything. Her hearing is getting better everyday with the power of the sun of this planet. It's scary.

"I can handle it." But Alex lies. The next day she is talking to her friend on the phone and "the new kid" is mentioned with choice words. Usurper. Nuisance. Orphan who isn't wanted. Sister that she never wanted. 

Her friend heartily agrees: Alex parents must be out of their minds to ruin Alex life like that. Who suddenly wants a younger sister? And one who is as weird as Kara.

It seems to be the final verdict.

Kara tries not to be bothered. And there's so much to learn anyway. She has no time to dwell.

And she made a promise to her parents to be strong. So she learns and talks and tries hard to fit in. Alex and Kara go their separate ways at school, but Kara still needs Alex guidance, and at home... Alex holds her when she cries, soothes her when she has nightmares - shares the secrets of ice cream and pop tarts with her.

It's tough. 

But it's getting better.

On television she sees her young-older cousin save the world, while she's struggling here, curled up with Alex on the Danvers' family sofa. She'd had a bad day at school because she'd pointed out that all of the science in her text book is wrong and Alex has made her popcorn, revealing another culinary Earth secret to make her stop crying.

"Stop crying, crybaby. Our parents will think I hurt you."

She stops suddenly, thinking the words over.

"Our parents?"

"Yes, dummy," Alex says, but she too sounds surprised by her own words. Perhaps she hasn't noticed when she'd changed her mind about this. "They're doing their best to adopt you and make that air tight so you can stay with us, so nobody will ever take you away. They want you to stay with us and grow up, like a normal, happy earth girl. You'll stay with us, okay?"

"Oh."

The kindness makes her cry, because she hadn't been sure until know that Alex liked her when she wasn't taking her flying, when she was annoying, weird Kara. She cries and Alex hugs her, awkwardly.

"I admit I never wanted siblings." The truth rushes out of Alex, before she can stop it. 

It stings. But not badly. Kara knows what it feels like when a life's plans change.

"I wanted a sibling all my life," she admits.

"Well, you're stuck with me. And I'm stuck with you. My little alien sister. We better make it work."

They eat the rest of the popcorn together in silence.

Sisters.

For the first time since arriving, Kara feels, like she fits in.

Alex is making it easier.

Kara has a big sister now.

Someone who looks out for her.

It's the one thing she never expected.

Now she's grateful for it.

The tears falling across her cheeks this time are happy ones.


End file.
